The Gorilla Database

A Toolkit for Entrepreneurs

Job creation, through business start ups, is an important part of this Forum. Marcus Claytor has very kindly designed a database, whose purpose is to give entrepreneurs a Toolkit to start businesses with. The database can store contact details and product/service innovations: meaning that an entrepreneur would have access to both, to start a new business.

For entrepreneurs and others who are interested, here is the link to the database:

https://plus.google.com/108660978572646258999/posts

The over 8,000 views it has had so far, is a clear indication of Gorilla's potential. We will continue to build the database, which will eventually lead to a new app for entrepreneurs.

'Boot Camps' for Young Job Seekers? Why Not Try This Instead...

 

 

In response to the Government’s ‘boot camp’ programme, to crack down on young people’s unemployment, (as per the article below), I have a suggestion to make.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jobless-young-people-to-attend-boot-camps-in-no-excuses-crackdown-on-youth-unemployment-10458357.html

There is one definite way we can all help young people’s employability: and that is, the qualified assessment of non-graduates (or 'NEET's').

 

 

 

Qualified Assessment as the Solution

Qualified assessment has been a huge success, for apprentices in all industries of the UK. The assessment of people’s skills and grading according to their ability, has given young apprentices the chance to prove themselves, and show their potential to future employers. And for those who have acquired skills already, recognition of prior learning through qualified assessment, is a perfect way to measure people’s potential; because after all, you don’t have to teach someone what they already know. And so, why not do the same for non-graduates?

Take every 16-24 year old who is not in education or training (known in the UK, as non-graduates or ‘NEETs’). Assess each candidate’s skills and abilities, and if they have a skill for which they do not yet have a grade, then assess and qualify them accordingly: as you would an apprentice. This could be for any skill; from customer service, to manual handling. But certificate qualifications in specific skills can make all the difference; as employers are looking to fit young recruits into specific niches or roles.

To the organisers of the ‘Boot Camp’ programme, I say to you; before you even send these young people on any courses, and train them for interviews, why not start by assessing them for what they already know? The UK Government’s agencies are quite capable of doing this. Because after all, they did it before.

 

 

The Leitch Report

Lord Leitch Report: Prosperity for all in the global economy in 2006, highlighted the need for more training and qualification in the UK, in response to Britain’s poor rating at the time, within the global skills economy. In Lord Leitch’s own words “we cannot be complacent and we cannot predict future economic conditions with certainty, but we do know that the demand for skills will grow inexorably.”

To meet this demand, the Government increased apprenticeships, improved access to training and skills; and most interestingly of all: back in 2006, sent qualified assessors into workplaces, to discover young people’s potential. The assessors qualifies 16-24 year olds – including non-graduates - by recognising their existing skills. I know this, because I applied for one such role. I was also lucky enough to gain a certificate qualification through assessment at work.

Qualified assessment of non-graduates in the workplace was a success then, and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be a success now: for all non-graduates whether employed or unemployed. I have been giving the idea some thought, and know one challenge we will face from the HR side. It has to do with the qualified assessors themselves.

 

The Challenge

One challenge from a legal, and HR point of view, will be redefining and renegotiating the assessors' role, to include non-graduates. Qualified assessors must operate within strict guidelines of their awarding bodies. As employees, they are recruited specifically to assess mainly the apprentices. I would say that the whole financial structure of our Government's programmes is geared to that effect. And so, to deviate from it in any way, by assessing someone not within a set scheme, would potentially go outside an assessor's contract. But there is a way round this.

Youth Engagement and other specialised youth teams, already receive funding in some form, from local or central government. If we can incorporate an assessor's role into each service, part of that funding for the youth service, can then go towards hiring the assessor, to work with the non-graduates. This is quite an important distinction to make, because an assessor must have a clearly defined role within a service, to be given the power to assess and qualify the non-graduates.

 

 According to staff from UK Youth, certain training organisations can in fact, apply for funding to assess young people in their care. But again, this depends on their applications being successful. I want us to make qualified assessment more freely available to non-graduates who are services users of youth organisations. Another way to do this, might be for an organisation to employ an assessor as a temporary contractor within their youth service. That will give the assessor the power, to qualify all of the organisation's young service users.

 

 Once we can work out the legal, financial and HR side, I think there is a way that we can integrate qualified assessors into all youth services.

 

Conclusion

I believe that qualified assessment is the single most effective way, to ensure the employment, and career development of non-graduates: both employed and unemployed. If all non-graduates in the UK were assessed and qualified for any skills they had, then many of them would be able to prove themselves to employers. If you have any opinions on this, then you are welcome to visit our open forum on the link below:

https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=5133737&trk=my_groups-tile-grp

And there is also a subgroup for discussions on qualified assessment of non-graduates:

https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=7494975

I welcome your thoughts on this.

 

Best Regards

 

James M

 

Founder

 

Let’s Build Bridges

Sources

 

Lord Leitch: Prosperity for all in the global econonomy – world class skills Final Report, 2006

 

Welcome New Members and an Update for Late July, 2015

Hello Everyone

Welcome as always to new members who have joined for late July 2015. As you can see, Let's Build Bridges is a Forum, to create opportunities for young people and for adults.

To keep it simple, this blog will tell new members all they need to know about what has been discussed.

If any young people are looking for voluntary work experience, then Lee Willows, the Founder of Young Gamblers Education Trust, has offered placements, and can be contacted on the LinkedIn page:

https://www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=5133737

For skills and qualifications for non-graduates, I have been speaking to The Princes Trust's Outreach Team, and they have a very effective 'Into' programme in place, to assess and refer young people accordingly, if you know of any non-graduates who may need their help.

Of course, I am pushing for full qualified assessment of all non-graduates, and would be interested to hear the youth workers' views about how we could do this.

On the start-ups side, we have had a new recruit for the Job Creation group. Chiara will bring new ideas and momentum to the discussions, and as I have told her, what we need now, is a practical demonstration of the Gorilla database in action.

If you are interested in starting a business, or know someone who is, then they are welcome to make use of this database:

Google+ (‘Gorilla Opportunity’ Start-Ups Database)

https://plus.google.com/108660978572646258999/posts

gorilla.opportunity@gmail.com

In the meantime, I'd like to thank all members for their efforts, welcome new ones, and long may we continue. The combined skills and expertise of the members in this group alone is making a big difference. Every idea, or discussion means a new opportunity can be created, which could make all the difference to someone's career.

I welcome your insights, and look forward to hearing. Let's make some opportunities!

Best Regards

James M

Founder

Video Blog - 'Let's Build Bridges', Update July 2015

Qualified Assessment Update, July 2015 - The Need for a More Proactive Approach

Following my article a few months ago, about qualified assessment for non-graduates, I have spoken to a number of youth organisations about this, and youth workers alike. As they have told me, there are certificate qualifications, which non-graduates can be awarded, but these are usually for general core skills (such as Teamwork). But from my background in HR, I know that - to be blunt - employers expect these core skills anyway, from all candidates who apply for a job.

What will impress the employers, are certificate qualifications for specific skill sets; for example, customer service, manual handling, etc. This will allow a candidate to fit into a specific niche that the employer wants them too. Again, it is not that non-graduates aren't given these certificate qualifications. But the problem is that the system relies on the initiative of each youth organisation or training provider.

For example, a school may recommend a group of young people, for training under a youth organization. The organisation's Outreach team may then assess the group, see where their skills lie, and accredit them a certificate qualification for a skill such as construction. And they may be introduced to contacts in the industry to find a good career. This is great for that particular group of young people: but what about the other young people in nearby schools, who could benefit just as much from the same opportunity?

That is why I think qualified assessment should be integrated proactively into every youth service, and made as freely available to non-graduates as a school education. This would ensure that every 16-24 year old service-user is given a free full assessment of his/her skills and abilities: and then directed to an assessor to be qualified for any ungraded skills. It should, in effect, be like a safety net, to make sure, that young people who did not get the chance for apprenticeships or higher education, are still able to prove themselves to future employers, by gaining certificate qualifications, that reflect their skills.

I am keen to discuss how we could make qualified assessment for young people, an integral part of all youth services.

You are welcome to visit our Forum page to discuss.

Best Regards

James M

Founder

Let'a Give Young People a Fighting Chance

A National System for Qualified Assessment

I'd like to share a few thoughts on the qualified assessment of all 16-24 year olds who are not in education or training: which I believe is essential for these young people's future. From what I have heard so far, the biggest challenge to qualified assessment for non-graduates; is not that they don't receive it. The challenge, is that assessment depends on the initiative of the training provider or funding organization.

For example, a school may recommend some of its pupils or students for assessment, and funding or training programmes will then be put in place, to give them certificate qualifications. But only these young people will benefit from it. There may be others in nearby schools, or in the vicinity, who need the same opportunities. The system as a whole, I believe, is too reactive.

The answer should be to ensure that qualified assessment forms an integral part of every youth service. I believe that there must be one national standard of assessment: so that every 16-24 year old non-graduate, who comes into contact with a youth organization, is offered a free full assessment of their skills and abilities. Any ungraded skills should be assessed and qualified, in exactly the same way as for apprentices.

There are of course, certificate qualifications which are already awarded by youth organizations in this way, to reflect general potential - such as a certificate in Personal Achievement, or Mentoring Learner Driver. But from my work for businesses, I know that employers are often looking for a specific skill set, and want specific qualifications to prove this. That is why it is important to offer non-graduates the chance to qualify for transferable, QCF certificates in specialized skills: such as customer service, manual handling or admin experience.

And we shouldn't delay in setting this up. From what I have read, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, 17.4 children in the UK, now live below the poverty line. This is not acceptable. Children who are born into poverty may be given food, clothing or shelter. But their need for opportunity is just as important. Without a good education or training for a career, they may be held down, and denied a future. And there is one important thing we can do to help with this.

Every 16-24 year old must be given the opportunity to prove themselves, by gaining qualifications that reflect their skills. The disadvantaged have no illusions about the challenges they face. Most of the non-graduates I have known have had to work from a young age, and some have worked their way up to have good careers.

If their grades reflected their actual skill level, I submit that most non-graduates actually have many skills from work experience they have had: and if these skills are confirmed by certificate qualifications, they would have the right grades to land the entry level jobs and progression needed for a good career.

So I invite all youth workers and others who want to help, to join our Forum, and see how we can make this happen. You are welcome to visit the pages shown on the links to the side of this page.

Let's set the standard for young people's careers.

Best Regards

James M

Founder

Update for June 2015

Hi All

Here's a quick update on Let's Build Bridges' progress so far for the month of June.

Thanks to the youth workers for joining this Forum. Your insight into youth services will be a great help for non-graduates' opportunities. From what I have been told by UK Youth, there are currently 5 certificate qualifications that non-graduates can be assessed for. While this is great for their career opportunities, I submit that if non-graduates were assessed for every skill - in much the same way as for apprentices, and for all the same skills - then they would be able to prove themselves, by gaining a lot of certificate qualifications.

As non-graduates have told me, they have worked jobs, that have given them ungraded skills and experience. So the challenge now, is for us to find a way to integrate qualified assessment - for all skills - into the support services that 16-24 year old non-graduates now receive. I know that this will give young people the fighting chance they need for decent careers, and I welcome the youth workers' thoughts on how we can achieve this.

On the knowledge transfer side, I am pushing to make sure that all students are being given the work experience they need to get a decent career for when they graduate. I would like to see student work experience be made a compulsory part of higher education, as students will need this to compete with experienced apprentices, for jobs. With this in mind, I have written an open letter to all UK universities and colleges, making the case for compulsory student work experience. I have so far had several replies, from careers officers, and look forward to hearing from the rest.

What would really help the students, I think; would be to keep a national list, of colleges/schools within each university, whose students are still looking for work experience. This would be like a league table for opportunities, and could be used as a kind of checklist, to make sure all students had had their chance. The list could then be matched with another list of businesses whose owners are prepared to offer it. According to what staff from Prospects magazine and NASES have told me, there is not yet a national list like this. But I think it would be helpful to have one.

On the job creation side, I am very pleased to report that the Gorilla Opportunity database has now had over 6,000 views on Google+, and is attracting long term investment opportunities, from within the business community:

Google+ (‘Gorilla Opportunity’ Start-Ups Database)

https://plus.google.com/108660978572646258999/posts

gorilla.opportunity@gmail.com

The Gorilla database exists to empower entrepreneurs with a Toolkit to start new businesses, and hence, is an enterprise in its own right. The project has been a great success. But let's not lose sight of its ultimate aim: to create jobs, and also to give adults a chance to feel valued.

So there has been a lot of progress, but I look forward to hearing members' feedback on all these issues. You are welcome to discuss with me and with each other. Our efforts will help the opportunities of both young people and adults.

Best Regards to All

James M

Founder



Links:

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Lets-Build-Bridges-5133737?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/419487984829959/